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Hi, I'm trying to think of a game that will keep me motivated to make it. Except I can't think of anything, I like making little a.i. style programs so maybe something along those lines, but i cant think of anything. I got a decent knowlege of directx,
and i believe i am capable of more advancish games...
any ideas?
thanks

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There is a place on gamedev that discusses this right here. The articles suggest you start with Tetris. This should be a good starter program for you. Then, because you like A.I., you could code some A.I. into the tetris game to play against some how. Or you could build a PAC-MAN clone.

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Even if you are "Beyond" Tetris, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Space invaders. You should still make them for the learnng experence. pluse having at lest a game under your belt will help you later on even if it is a clone.

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If AI is your thing I'd suggest taking a really simple game graphically (not neccessarily 2D, but not a huge 3D level) that is fun for 2 people to play. Then make a good AI player. Maybe something along the lines of asteroids but where you dogfight enemy ships. For that matter something like X-wing / Freespace doesn't need big levels and BSP trees etc - once you get the maths and maybe a little physics into a framework, you can add models, special effects, AI etc in as you see fit. A good ai challenge I think...Or a football/soccer game could be interesting for AI. Modifiy it not to be football if you don't want to mess about with animations, but team AI would be interesting I think and again the arena is not complicated in terms of gameplay.

kelfe89882 <kelfe89882@yahoo.com> wrote:> Hello all. I am a shareware game developer... There are soooo many games> out these days that I feal as though there is nothing new to make. After> several weeks of consideration, I have been unable to come up with an idea> for a new game. I decided to come here, and ask you, the people who> actually play my games (I hope) what they would like to play.

Oh dear, hoom hom, let me see if I can manage an Uncle Al imitation...

....I apologize if it doesn't really live up to the original...

Nothing new to make? Nothing new to make?

The shareware archives are full of Ultima 3 knock-offs, Space Invadersknock-offs, and -- for the really creative -- Civilization knock-offs.What *hasn't* been done before? How about a role-playing game withoutswords, where you construct spells out of working algorithmic parts andtry to sneak around the enemy's defenses instead of wearing them down? Howabout an empire-building game where logistics is more important thanproducing armies? How about a one-on-one fighting game where each playerhas the ability to travel through time, and the sneakiest move is to sneakup behind your opponent while he's busy punching you in the stomach?

Bonus points if you can name the computer game, board game, or book thatinspired each of those thoughts. So, why aren't you reading those booksand playing those games yourself? All things come to he who researches.Played RoboRally? Is the principle of pre-programming a sequence of movesapplicable to multiplayer Tetris? Or that jumping-pegs thing? Or acolonize-the-galaxy game?

On the bookshelf across from me is a spiky plastic ball in a cage; thepuzzle is getting it out. It's tricky. Can that be translated to a game ona 2-D screen? What would the mouse interface be like?

Last week I sat down with a chess board and a bunch of wooden triangles,and pointed them at each other until I had some rules. I tested it tonightwith some friends. It's fun. I may code it.

Last week I bought a set of those colored one-centimeter rods that theyuse to teach first-grade math. I haven't decided what to do with them yet.Maybe build a tower, or push them around the table like little trains. Ifit's enough fun, it's worth designing a game. Did you play in the mud whenyou were a kid? Ever turn the garden hose on a sandcastle and watch itmelt? If so, is there a computer game like that? If not, what's wrong withyou?

Bryce 4 is $200 retail price. (A clever person could find a rebate.) Itlets you build beautiful rendered landscape images, with objects in them. Ever wanted to write a game like Myst? It'll be a year's work. If tenshareware programmers write short graphical adventure games, I guaranteethree of them will be more interesting and original than the crap that thebig studios crank out. Are you one of those three, or would you rathergive up in advance?

RPG baking game? (The Princess isn't happy until the cookie dough comesout just right. Flour is easy, but gooseberries only grow in the vales ofthe Giant Goose... Later, you discover what *else* the skills ofmeasuring, mixing, and precise heating can be used for.)

Hyperspace navigation? There are dozens of books that describe in floridprose how hard it is to map your way through jumpspace, and why it'sbetter than sex. Implement this. You can leave the sex out if you want. Ifyou're stuck for a mathematical underpinning, go look up that weirdchemical reaction that forms spirals. Someone implemented it about tenyears ago for a Siggraph paper -- reaction-diffusion textures. ("Spacecookies!") Prodding that with a stick could be interesting.

Figure out rules for creating an infinite number of Chinese puzzle-boxes.Bonus points if they're physically realizable -- have an option to printout blueprints.

A multiplayer game where people all over the world can push pixels arounda board, trying to create artistic and eye-catching patterns. Competitivecooperation. License the resulting designs as logos and letterhead forpretentious Internet startups. Get rich.

Core-War-style program fragments fighting in a memory space of randomdata. Set up a web site and let people bet money on the results. See whatevolves.

Chris "Balance of Power" Crawford keeps trying to invent a system fordynamic characters to interact with each other, and the player, generatinga storyline as they go. So far, he's produced nothing coherent. Figure outwhat he's doing wrong; fix it. One seminal game, and people will bewriting knock-offs of *your* idea.

Or, you could write something with big explosions.

Everything has already been done -- once, and in the least interestingway. Do it again, but get it right. If you combine two ideas you've seenin *different* places, you're a genius. If you use commas and apostrophescorrectly in the documentation, you're a creative visionary. It's rainingsoup, as the good Uncle said; don't sit there using your soup bowl to keepyour hair dry.

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Even if you are "Beyond" Tetris, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Space invaders. You should still make them for the learnng experence. pluse having at lest a game under your belt will help you later on even if it is a clone.

Definetly agree here. Until you've made one of the above games, I wouldn't recommend trying anything more advanced. Even if you have a good knowledge of DirectX, putting it together into a game is a completely different story.

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Original post by sakkyThere is a place on gamedev that discusses this right here. The articles suggest you start with Tetris. This should be a good starter program for you. Then, because you like A.I., you could code some A.I. into the tetris game to play against some how. Or you could build a PAC-MAN clone.

I have found a flaw in Microsoft Word. When I type int oword it makes special adjustments to letters and things. One of these, is the special quote character. The bad thing about this is that the GameDev text box will see them also, and keep them. So when I offer a link to someone, I have to remeber to remove the special style on the quotes.